Wheel for road and rail transport



Oct. 13, 1936. E. CAPO WHEEL FOR ROAD AD RAIL TRANSPORTS Filed Aug. 28,1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 dll/l rll/ /r oct. 13, 1936. E, CAPO 2,057,415

WHEEL FOR ROAD AND RAIL TRANSPORTS Filed Aug. 28, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 2@1.13, 1936. E. CAP 2,057,415

WHEED FOR ROAD AND RAIL TRANSPORTS Filed Aug. 28, 1935 :5 sheets-sheet 5fnl/sainz' 50057027 [a 7 by x Patented Oct. 13, 1936 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE WHEEL FR ROAD AND RAIL TRANSPORT Edoardo Capo, Torino,Italy Application August 28, 1933, Serial No. 687,221 In Germany August29, 1932 4 Claims. (Cl. 180-15) The object of my invention is to providea wheel of that kind in which either of these elements can be quicklyand easily brought into its operative position while the other elementis brought back into its inoperative position.

To this effect, according to my invention, one of these elements iskeyed directly to the driving axle of the vehicle and the other elementis carried by a support adapted to be brought into either of twopositions: one for which it is in concentric relation with the drivingaxle, and the other for which it is eccentrically positioned withrespect to said driving axle so that said second element is lifted olithe ground.

According to an essential feature of my invention, the above mentionedsupport of the second wheel element consists of an eccentric disc jour-`nalled on a bearing itself eccentrically positioned with respect to thedriving axle. The eccentricity of the wheel support with respect to thebearing is equal t the eccentricity of said bearing with respect to theaxle. With this arrangement, for one position of the support, theeccentricity of the bearing isv compensated for by the eccentricity ofsaid support, so that the latter is concentrically positioned withrespect tothe driving axle and the two wheel elements are in concentricrelation with respect to each other. On the contrary, when the eccentricsupport has been turned through 180 around the eccentric bearing, theeccentricities of these two parts are` added together and the secondwheel element is in its eccentric position with respect to the firstwheel element. My device therefore comprises clutch means for causingthe eccentric support of the second wheel element to turn around 4theeccentric bearing under the action of the driving axle.

When the two wheel elements are in concentric relation with respect toeach other, they are angularly keyed together, while when they areeccentrically positioned with respect to each other the wheel elementthat is lifted olf the ground can rotate freely.

The device according to my invention can also be adapted to the case inwhich a simple wheel must be eventually lifted off the ground andsimultaneously uncoupled; it may also apply to the case in which thewheel must be lifted 01T the a. ground without being stopped.

In both of these cases the device Will comprise only one of the abovementioned Wheel elements, that is to say either the wheel element thatis directly keyed to the driving axle or the wheel element `that iscarried by the eccentric support.

Preferred embodiments of my invention will be hereinafter described withreference to the accompanying drawings, given merely by way of example,and in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional View on the line I-I of 10 Fig. 2, the operatingwheel being shown in operative position.

Fig. 1a is a similar view, the operating wheel being shown ininoperative position.

Fig. 2 is a section on line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a modification showing the operating ordriving wheel in operative position.

Fig. 3a is a similar view with the operating wheel in'inoperativeposition. 2 Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a further modification, theoperating wheel being shown in operative position.

Fig. 4a is a similar view, the operating wheel being shown ininoperative position. 2 Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line V--V ofFig. 1, on a larger scale.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line VII-VII 3 of Fig. 1.`

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7.

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 show constructional details of the controllingmechanism. 3

Fig. 12 is a sectional view on the line XII-XII' of Fig. 5.

Fig. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing the outline of the cam disc.

Fig. 14 is a View in vertical section, elevation, showing the use of theoperative wheel of this invention in connection with a track-travelingwheel, relative to which track-traveling wheel the operating wheel ofthis invention'is movable to a position to engage the ground surfaceorto a position free of that surface.

I is a wheel of a known type adapted to run on a road surface which isprovided with a tire either of the solid or hollow rubber type.Obviously, the tire illustrated may be substituted by 5 a pneumatic tireif desired which is, of course, not necessary to illustrate. This wheelis keyed to the driving axle 2, which is supported by axle casing 3.Each of the outer ends of said axle casing 3 carries an eccentricbearing 4 on which 55 partly ln 40:

is journalled an eccentric disc 5. The eccentricity of disc 5 withrespect to bearing 4 is equal to the eccentricity of bearing 4 withrespect to axle 2.

Eccentric disc 5 acts as a support for the hub B of the second wheelelement 1, which is provided on its outer periphery with transverse ribsfor gripping the ground. Hub 6 carries the female part 8 of a clutch themale part 9 of which is slidably keyed on shaft 2.

Eccentric disc 5 is further provided with inwardly projecting teeth 5'meshing with a toothed Wheel I adapted to turn freely on axle 2 butprovided on either side with dog clutches I0 and I0" respectivelythrough which it can be coupled either with axle casing 3 or with a diskII keyed on axle 2.

A spring I2 normally keeps toothed wheel II)v coupled with axle casing 3so that it prevents eccentric disc from turning around bearing 4 andconsequently maintains wheel element 'I in the position (eitherconcentric or eccentric) into which it was previously brought. Thedisplacement of toothed wheel II) is controlled by a forked arm I3 keyedon a sliding shaft I4 (see Figs. 5 and 7). This shaft I4 carries afinger I5o extending transversely thereto (see Fig. l1) and bearingagainst the lateral edge of annular disc 5 which acts as a kind of camthe profile of Which is shown developed at I5-I5 in Fig. 13.

Fork I3 is provided with a locking member I3.

slidably and elastically mounted therein. Locking member I3' is adaptedto engage a notch |4o formed in the shaft I4' as shown in Fig. 6. Theshaft I4 extends parallel to the shaft I4, as shown in Fig. '7 and itcarries a fork I6 (see Fig. 10) for controlling the sliding movement ofthe male clutch element 9 along axle 2. The longitudinal slidingdisplacements of shaft I4 are controlled through a member (not shown inthe drawings) disposed between the wheels.

The operation of the device above described is as follows:

It will be supposed that the wheel is ilrst in the position shown inFig. 1 for which the eccentricities of bearing 4 and of disc 5 are addedtogether. Under these conditions, wheel element 'I is free to rotate andis held at a certain distance from the ground. Sliding shaft I4 is thenmoved in the direction of arrow a. Figs. land 6.) As locking member I3',slidably carried by fork I3, engages into a notch |40 of shaft I4', saidfork I3 and shaft I4 to which it is keyed are also move-d in thedirection of the arrow a, so that the clutch IU of toothed wheel II'I isdisengaged and said wheel is now coupled with driving axle 2 throughclutch Ill" and disk II.

In the course of this movement, the lower portion of locking member I3has come into contact with an inclined surface I8 integral with axlecasing 3, thus disengaging locking member I3 from the correspondingnotch of shaft I4. Shaft I4 and fork I3, which is keyed thereto, wouldthen be free to slide back into their original positions under theaction of spring I2 (thus disconnecting clutch III and coupling wheel I0with axle casing 3 through clutch ID) were it not for the fact thatlinger I5o (see Figs. 9 and 12) has been brought in the meantime intocontact with the cam like surface I5 formed on the edge of eccentricdisc 5.

As soon as wheel I0' was coupled with axle 2 through clutch I0" and diskII, eccentric disc 5 started turning around bearing 4 (thus keepingfinger I5o applied against the cam-forming edge of 4disc 5, as abovestated). After a rotation of 180, disc 5 comes into a position for whichits eccentricity is compensated for by the eccentricity of bearing 4 sothat said disc 5 is now concentric with axle 2 and wheel I. When thisposition is reached by disc 5, ringer I5o engages a notch I5 provided indisc 5 and then allows shaft I4 to slide back to its original positionunder the action of spring I2 driving along wheel I0 together with itthrough fork I3. This disengages clutch I0 through which wheel I0 wascoupled with disk II and causes said wheel I to be coupled with axlecasing 3 through clutch I0', so that eccentric disc 5 is now locked inits new position.

The male and female parts, 9 and B respectively, of the clutch adaptedto connect hub 6 to axle 2 are now in coaxial relation and can beengaged one into the other so that wheel 'I is now vrigidly connected toaxle 2 (this position being shown on the left hand side of Fig. 1).

When it is desired to bring back the device into the position for whichthe vehicle rests on the ground through wheel it suffices to push shaftI4 in the direction of arrow a (Fig. la) and to repeat the operationsabove described. Eccentric disc 5 is then caused to rotate through 180,which brings it back to its original position, thus disconnecting wheelelement 'I and lifting it off the ground, as shown in Fig. 1a.

Obviously the operation which has just been described applies to allwheels of the Vehicle which function in the manner described frompassing over from road service to railroad or field service. Suchoperation is effected simultaneously for all the wheels or wheel groups.It may also take place for each wheel or each wheel group in sequenceand this without regard to the number of axles incorporated in thevehicle.

Of course Wheels I and 1 may be of a different type from those disclosedon the drawings. These wheels may carry no tire at all, or one of themmight be provided with a flange similar to those carried by railwaywheels, so that the vehicle might be utilized for running both on a roador on a railway track.

The embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 3a is applicable when the vehicleis supported by two systems of wheels, namely a stationary wheel systemand a liftable wheel system. Thus, for example, there may be provided aseries of wheels having road tires capable of being raised and loweredcombined with a series of Wheels designed to travel on a railroad trackand fixed against being raised or lowered. Thus, one wheel of each groupis raised or lowered with respect to the other wheel of the groupwithout corresponding movement of such other wheel, at least withrespect to the vehicle. Therefore, the invention contemplate-s a set ofbody supporting Wheels which otherwise than as to rotation are xed withrespect to the body except, of course, in the usual spring play.Combined with this exactly in accordance with the mechanism described isa movable wheel for each fixed wheel capable of being raised and loweredwith respect to the body for service as a body supporting Wheel incontact with the surface when lowered or wholly free of any surfacecontact when raised.

The track-traveling wheels are not illustrated in Fig. 3 but only thewheels designed for vertical bodily movement according to the presentinvention. Of these bodily movable wheels constructed and operatedaccording to the present invention, `Fig.`3 showsfat the lefttlreuwheel` in the operating wheel formingv the subject-matter' of thepresent invention, inconnection with 'a'- track-traveling wheel, isillustrated more particularly in Fig. -14, the operatingparts beingshown partly in section and partly in elevation, it being understoodthat such parts are identical with those described in connection withFig. 1.

The operation of the device of Figs. 3 and 14 is exactly the same asthat of the first embodiment.

On the contrary, the embodiment disclosed in Figs. 4 and 4a comprisesonly Wheel element 3|, which is directly keyed on the driving axle 32.The hub 36, instead of supporting another wheel element as in the firstembodiment, is fixed to axle casing 33 and bearing 34 can rotate freelywith respect to the axle, but is prevented from rotating by a stop |50.In this case, the mechanism contained in the hub is intended merely torotate eccentric disc 35 so as to move the wheel element 3| upwardly ordownwardly, said wheel remaining angularly keyed to driving axle 32. Iheother elements are similar to tho-se in the first embodiment.

While I have described what I deem to be practical and eiflcientembodiments of my invention, it should be well understood that I do notwish to be limited thereto as there might be changes made in thearrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing fromthe principle of my invention as comprehended within the scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:

l. In a vehicle including a driving axle and a `casing for said axle, adevice of the type described, which comprises in combination, a wheelelement keyed to said axle, a bearing xed in an eccentric position withrespect to said axle, an eccentric disc journalled on said bearing, theeccentricity of said disc with respect to said bearing being equal tothe eccentricity of said bearing with respect to said axle, a hubjournalled on said eccentric disc concentrically therewith, a secondwheel element carried by said hub, a toothed wheel slidably keyed onsaid axle, a plurality of teeth on the inner periphery of said eccentricdisc adapted to mesh with said toothed wheel, clutch means for lockinglsaid toothed wheel with respect to said axle casing, clutch means foroperatively connecting said toothed wheel with said axle, means forcontrolling said clutch means so as to bring the first mentioned clutchmeans into operative position and to disconnect the second mentionedclutch means in either of two positions of said disc with respect tosaid bearing for which the axes of the disc, of the bearing and of theaxle are in the same plane, and means for manually disconnecting thefirst mentioned clutch means and bringing the second mentioned clutchinto operative position when it is desired to reverse the position ofthe wheel elements with respect to each other, the device furthercomprising clutch means for coupling said hub to said axle when the hubis concentrically positioned with respect to the axle.

2. In a vehicle including a driving axle and a casing for said axle, adevice of the type described, which comprisesin combination, a wheelelement keyed to said axle, a bearing xed in an eccentric position withrespect to said axle, an eccentric disc journalled on said bearing, theeccentricity o-f said disc with respect to said bearing=being equal tothe eccentricity of said bear-ing with respect -to vsaid axle, a hubjournalled on said eccentricldisc concentrically therewithf-a secondAwheel element carriedV by saldi hub, a toothed wheel slidably keyed onsaid axle, a plu-- rality 'of-teethonfthe inner periphery of saideccentric disc adapted to mesh with said toothedv wheel, clutch meansVfor locking said toothed wheel with respect -to saidY axle casing,clutch means `for operativelyvco-nnecting 'said toothed wheel with saidaxle, a spring urging said first mentioned clutch means into operativeposition, a shaft parallel to said axle slidably mounted in .saidbearing, a fork carried by said shaft for transmitting the slidingdisplacements of said shaft to said toothed wheel, a cam surface on thelateral edge of said eccentric disc, a finger carried by said shaft andadapted to cooperate with said cam surface, a second shaft parallel to|said axle slidably mounted in said bearing, elastic means.

l wheel element keyed to said axle, a bearing xed eccentric to saidaxle, an eccentric disc journalled on said bearing, the ecc'entricity ofsaid disc to said bearing being equal to the eccentricity of saidbearing to said axle, a hub journalled on said eccentric discconcentrically therewith, a secondary wheel element carried by said hub,a toothed wheel splined on said axle, the inner periphery of saideccentric disc having teeth adapted to mesh with said toothed wheel,clutch means for locking said toothed wheel with respect to said axlecasing, clutch means for operatively connecting said toothed wheel withsaid axle, means for controlling said clutch means so as to bring thefirst mentioned clutch means into operative position and to disconnectthe second mentioned clutch means in either of two positions of saiddisc with respect to said bearing for which the respective axes of thedisc, bearing and axle are in the same plane, means for manuallydisconnecting the first mentioned clutch means and bringing the secondmentioned clutch into operative position when it is desired to reversethe relative positions of the wheel elements, and clutch means forcoupling Y said hub to said axle when the hub is concentric to the axle.

4. In a vehicle including a driving axle and a casing for said axle, thecombination of a primary Wheel element keyed to said axle, a bearingfixed eccentrically to said axle, an eccentric disc journalled on saidbearing, the eccentricity of said disc to said bearing being equal tothe eccentricity of said bearing to said axle, a hub journalled on saideccentric disc concentrically therewith, a secondary wheel elementcarried by said hub, a toothed wheel splined on said axle, the innerperiphery of said eccentric disc having teeth adapted to mesh with saidtoothed wheel, clutch means for locking said toothed wheel with respectto said axle casing, clutch means for operatively connecting saidtoothed wheel with said axle, a spring urging said first mentionedclutch means into operative position, a shaft parallel to' said axleslidably mounted in said bearing, a fork carried by said shaft fortransmitting the sliding displacements of said shaft to said toothedWheel, a cam surface on the lateral edge of said eccentric disc, aiinger carried by said shaft and adapted to cooperate with said camsurface, a second shaft parallel to said axle slidably mounted in saidbearing, elastic means for connecting said two shafts together over aportion of their displacements against the action of said spring; saidcam surface being so traced as to keep the second mentioned clutch meansin operative posi- `tion for a rotation of 180 of the eccentric disc andthen to allow the first mentioned shaft to slide back under the actionof the spring, and .clutch means for coupling said hub to said axle'when these two parts are concentrically positioned.

EDOARDO CAPO.

